Does email marketing still work in 2022?

Does email marketing still work in 2022?

The answer is: Yes.

It’s just that the way email marketing is done is a little bit different in 2022. Times have changed, customers have changed and new channels have emerged. This means if you want to continue getting the most out of your email campaigns, you have to start embracing different tactics.

In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the current state of email marketing. We’ll also be looking at what businesses need to do to ensure email marketing keeps working for them as a strong marketing channel.

Email Marketing in 2022

Not too long ago, apps like WhatsApp didn’t exist. Now, these channels are not only competing with email — they’re also threatening to dominate them. In fact, stats show that the number of people using messaging apps could reach 3.09 billion by 2025.

So what does all this mean for the state of email marketing? And is it really true that email still works?

Email actually has one of the best ROIs around — $42 for every one dollar spent according to HubSpot.

Not just that, but email must be working for businesses if 4 out of 5 digital marketers claim that, if they had to choose between social media and email marketing, they’d go with email.

And in case you were wondering whether or not email engagement has gone down? 78% of marketers actually saw an increase during the pandemic.

Benefits of email marketing in 2022

As we’ve just seen, email marketing in 2022 is in a pretty healthy state. It remains an excellent marketing channel that helps to connect you with your customers.

Let’s take a look at some key benefits:

1. You get to build deeper customer relationships

Because email lets you create personalized content, you can make one-to-one connections with each customer on a personal level.

For instance, you can send product recommendations that are specific to each customer based on, among other things, their previous purchase history.

2. Increase leads

Got customers on your list who’ve never bought from you?

That’s awesome. You can then create email campaigns that over time turn them from prospects into loyal customers.

3. Direct traffic to your site

Whether you send out links to your blog posts, links to your upcoming webinars or links to your product pages, you can use email to direct traffic to your site. From there, you can then turn them into paying customers.

4. Learn more about your brand

Lastly, you can use email to send surveys and polls to elicit customer feedback. That way, you get access to priceless data that fills you in on what customers like about your brand, as well as what they feel could be improved.

How to do Email Marketing in 2022

Email marketing has changed over the years. Let’s take a look at what you need to do so that it continues to work for you:

1. Segment your list

Email marketing existed 20 years ago — but segmented lists didn’t. Not the way they do today.

This is important to note because if you segment your list, you could boost your revenue by as much as 760%.

What’s email segmentation?

Email segmentation is when you create different email segments. Each one contains customers who share similar interests, similar purchase histories, similar demographics, and so on.

The idea is that you segment your list so that you can then email each segment personalized content. This ensures more people get email content that’s relevant to them, it ensures you don’t waste their time with irrelevant offers, and it means you get to boost conversions.

To segment your list, you need to:

• Collect the necessary data, such as previous purchase history, location, and demographics
• Create buyer personas so that you understand each segment better
• Use an email marketing tool to help you segment your list
• Write tailored emails for each segment

2. Leverage artificial intelligence

AI has changed the marketing landscape — and it could be the decisive factor that truly turbocharges your email campaigns.

AI is able to:

• Mine predictive analytics to help you craft more engaging emails
• Analyze subject lines to learn which ones work best
• Determine the best time for you to send out your emails

AI can also delve into customer data to understand their habits and preferences, thereby helping you segment your list better.

In short, AI can take the guesswork out of email marketing so that open rates, click rates and conversion rates all improve.

You can get started by checking out the best artificial intelligence for email tools.

Not sure your budget can stretch far enough? Consider revenue-based finance among other funding options to help cover the costs.

3. Use more social proof

Social proof has always worked. Studies have shown that 88% of customers say they trust reviews written by total strangers — just as much as they do personal recommendations by a friend or family member.

This means that, if you add social proof to your email campaigns, you’re already onto a winner.

There are two things you can do here. One is to invite customers who purchased a product recently to leave you a customer review. If you go down this route, wait at least a week after they bought said product before sending them an email that politely asks them to leave a review. Show them exactly how to do it.

The second thing you can do is add customer reviews each time you send product recommendations out to your customers via email.

Displaying customer reviews in your emails is a great way to attract attention and divert traffic to your website.

4. Test, Test, Test

Lastly, it’s extremely important that you test your email campaigns constantly. When you test your campaigns, you get to understand why, among other things, your open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates might be down, and what you can do to improve them.

Things you can test include:

• Subject lines (critical for open rates)
• Short and long emails
• Different CTAs
• Various signup forms

You can also test your offers, the length of your email, as well as the landing page you’ll direct your subscribers to.

Other things you should test include the time of the day you send your emails out, as well as the format of your newsletters (do less or more images work best?).

To help you out, it’s a good idea to check out the best testing tools.

Final Thoughts

An email marketer has to wear a few different hats in 2022. But as we’ve seen, their job is just as relevant as ever. And as long as you use tools to help you out, leverage artificial intelligence and segment your list so that your emails are more targeted and personalized, email marketing can represent an awesome ROI that improves your bottom line.